Nord Stream suspect held in Italy refusing food due to health condition, lawyer says

By Emilio Parodi

MILAN (Reuters) -A Ukrainian man suspected of coordinating the 2022 sabotage of the Nord Stream gas pipelines has gone on hunger strike because Italian authorities are violating his fundamental rights by ignoring his poor health condition, his lawyer said on Monday.

Bureaucratic hurdles and prison rules have prevented the suspect, known only as Serhii K. under German privacy laws, from receiving food appropriate to his condition, the lawyer, Nicola Canestrini, told Reuters, causing him to lose a lot of weight.

Serhii K. was arrested in Italy in August on a European arrest warrant issued by Germany over the blasts, which severed Russian gas transit to Europe. Canestrini said in September that his client denied any involvement in the attacks.

An Italian appeals court in Bologna last month ordered that the suspect be transferred to Germany. The former Ukrainian officer is currently being held in an Italian high-security prison pending a further hearing at the Court of Cassation, the top court, which is expected to take place within about a month.

"SK has been refusing food for 10 days now due to his health condition and has already lost nine kilos," Canestrini said, adding that this raised "serious concerns about respect for international humanitarian law".

Canestrini said his client suffered from pancreatitis and coeliac disease - an autoimmune condition triggered by certain foods - as well as being vegan.

"What's more, he is a non-smoker and has been forced to share a cell for two and a half months with other inmates who smoke 24 hours a day," he added.

Italy's Prison Administration Directorate and Justice Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian parliament's commissioner for human rights, said on Sunday he had urged Italian authorities to respect the suspect's rights to adequate nutrition and a healthy detention environment.

No one has claimed responsibility for the 2022 explosions, which both Moscow and the West described as an act of sabotage. Ukraine has denied any role.

(Reporting by Emilio Parodi, editing by Gareth Jones)